I have 10 free promo codes to my new 'Poker Stacks' game! It is a casual puzzle game that is a combination of Bejeweled and Poker which adds some really cool strategies. Here's your chance to give it a try....

You don't have to be good at poker to love this game you just have to be comfortable with poker hands, and we can teach you those!

And thanks to the other forum members who have already given it a try and given me great feedback for the upcoming versions one of which is nearing completion with 2 new game modes, 2 difficulty levels and some other neat and helpful stuff....

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To help promote those active in the community that I visit and enjoy every day, the first 10 forum members with over 25 Posts that PM me will recieve a promo code.

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And thanks to the other forum members who have already given it a try and given me great feedback for the upcoming versions one of which is nearing completion with 2 new game modes, 2 difficulty levels and some other neat and helpful stuff....
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Click to expand...

I'm looking forward for the update. And it seems you'll be able to release it still this year, right?

Actually, I should be joining in more.. Im really into a lot of these game, mostly puzzle types and am trying to discover how some are so much bigger than others, when some of the better games are smaller ones that get overlooked and dont get run on the front page of most of these sites...

Im hoping mine can go from overloooked fun game to polished cool game, that even gets front page love when an update is coming....

[oh, and I sent Owen a copy too]

The codes are gone for now. But so far a very positive response so Im sure Ill scratch up some more at some point.... Thanks to all who took part...

Note that I got a promo code from the developer, but that this didn't impact the objectivity in my review. A promo code doesn´t guarantee a 5 star review.

Match 3 games can be fun, but I've seen to many of them. They need to bring something new to make it fun. (Like Aurora Feint does) Now, I also enjoy playing Texas Hold-Em poker. So anything that combines these two elements deserves my attention.

In Poker Stacks, you're required to make hands (a maximum of five cards) in horizontal lines or vertical rows. If you submit a row or line, the valid poker hands are removed and the blocks fall down. The cards involved in the valid poker hand don't have to though each other, so selecting AQJ5A will still give you a pair of Aces. However, you still may want to swap some tiles in order to create better hands. In order to do this, you can swap a tile once with another tile, but then it gets locked. Only until after you've submitted another hand though, so while locked tiles in matching games normally frustrate me, in Poker Stacks it only adds a serious element of strategy.

The game is timed, which is nice. In my first game I had only 13 seconds left, so while you're relatively safe (if you get better after the first round), you certainly have to keep your eye on the timer. Especially in later levels, where the requirements get higher. In the first levels, you can submit any hand (Pair or better) and have to remove tiles until only the bottom three lines (or less) of the playing field are filled with tiles. But after a few levels, one pair isn't enough. You get some help because you only have to remove tiles until 4 lines are left, but the miminum hand you need to submit is Two Pair. So the difficulty increases.

In the end the gameplay is so unique that in fact you don't have the feeling of playing a matching or poker game, it's well balanced so you're really playing both.

You might want to read the in-game instructions to find out how you can switch tiles, select a hand, and move blocks into empty spaces, the controls aren't intuitive. (But then again, normally I would swipe across two tiles to switch them, but the swiping motion is also needed to select a hand. So the developer had to make a choice here, it's not his fault.)

Graphics are bright and sharp and fit the game well. It´s a unique game which combines two games that I both like, in a way I´ve never seen before.

There are two suggestions I can think of.
First, I´d like to be able to return to the menu screen from inside the game. Now, I can pause it, but not return to the menu screen.
Second, I´d like a freeplay mode in which the timer is removed. I don't always feel like playing a timed game, so without the timer it's a perfect 'zen' thinking game you can play before going to bed.